Google Analitics

Sunday, June 26, 2016

The pink color of tourmalines from many fields is the result of prolonged natural irradiation. Some tourmaline gems, especially pink to red colored stones, are altered by heat treatment to improve their color. Irradiation is almost impossible to detect in tourmalines, and does not, currently, impact the value. Heat treatment is also used to enhance tourmaline. Heavily-included tourmalines, such as rubellite and Brazilian paraiba, are sometimes clarity-enhanced. A clarity-enhanced tourmaline (especially paraiba) is worth much less than a non-treated gem. (source)